Lost to Corona – A Salute To the Neurosurgeon Who Saved Conjoined Twins Around The World
“Dr.
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Goodrich was a beacon of our institution and he will be truly missed. His expertise and ability were second only to his kind heart and manner.” said Montefiore Medicine CEO Dr. Philip O. Ozuah in a CNN interview.
Dr. James T. Goodrich, most famous for his widely televised broadcast operation on the conjoined twins Jadon and Anias McDonald in 2016, has died due to complications resulting from COVID-19. He was 70 years old.
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And thus, another great medical heroes of our time has perished under the growing pandemic. But his significance in the history of neurosurgery, along with his achievements, and most notably the people he has invested so much of himself, lives on.
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The Montefiore Medicine, in their statement for the obituary, depicted Goodrich as “humble and truly caring” who “did not crave the limelight and was beloved by his colleagues and staff.point 175 | ”
Not only was he gifted in his hands, but he was also gifted with something else; A Heart wide enough for his colleagues and his patients.point 294 |
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It was almost like he had so much to spare.point 34 |
Dr.point 156 | Emad Eskandar, chair of the department of neurosurgery at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine had this to say about the great man:
“Jim was in many ways the heart and soul of our department – a master surgeon, a world-class educator, and a beloved colleague for all.point 391 |
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His sudden loss is heart-breaking and his memory will always remain foremost in our thoughts.point 79 | ”
Goodrich, in his lifetime, was “a pioneer in the field of helping children with complex neurological conditions; he developed a multi-stage approach for separating craniopagus twins, like Jadon and Anias McDonald, who were fused at the brain and skull.point 306 |
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His operation on the McDonald twins was certainly not his first craniopagus twin separation.point 204 |
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Carl and Clarence Aguirre in 2004 was the onset of his almost celebrity career as a Hand of God managing to separate the two in near full health.point 118 |
Of course, the CNN-televised McDonald surgery stands out from his medical history as one of the most arduous and pain-staking of them all.point 234 |
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A team of 40 doctors were led into and participated in a surgery spanning a staggering 27 hour period.point 84 |
It was the seventh of its kind for Goodrich, along with being the 59th in total coming from the whole record of such separation in world history since 1952.point 212 |
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Endowed with grayish features, he was friendly-looking, a non-intimidating genius in hand.point 191 | He never looked away from the ones he operated on after all the procedures and medical duties were lifted from him.point 286 |
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Many have vouched that he even remembered every children’s birthdays and anniversaries.point 82 | He described his hard works as being simply “pretty awesome (…) chaotic (…)We’ve got it down to a fine art, but in the beginning, it was a bit of a challenge.point 236 |
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Goodrich was a Oregonian by birth, served as a Marine during the Vietnam war and thus a veteran.point 86 | He is survived by his wife and three sisters.point 123 |